


Charred

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Firefighters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Body Horror, F/M, Firefighters, Mild Gore, it's in italics if you want to skip it, only a little bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-24
Updated: 2014-05-24
Packaged: 2018-01-26 09:12:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1682954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything is on fire. Levi watches himself burn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Charred

i. "How bad is it?" Levi asks. 

His fingers clench on the edge of the thin hospital mattress. White uniforms, white blankets, white walls. Everything so white, and it hurts his eyes. It's all so bright. 

"I won't sugarcoat it," the doctor answers from his bedside, flipping through the pages of his chart. "You've sustained serious burns to your leg. The recovery process will be arduous."

"I see."

Everything so bright. He closes his eyes, and that hurts even worse.

ii. The TV tells him what Erwin won't.

"Four firefighters lost their lives last night on a routine call, and many more were injured. Fortunately, all residents of the building evacuated safely, including two local college students.

The cause of the fire is still unknown; however, police are investigating a possible arson case. The community is outraged, and several petitions have been made to remove Fire Commissioner Erwin Smith from his position. Battalion Chief Hange Zoe gave a public statement this afternoon to express the department's deepest sympathy for the families of the lost firefighters.

More on this story at twelve."

iii. "I've got to go out and give another press conference," Hange says, downing their third cup of coffee. They sigh and lean back against the wall, staring blankly at the ground.

Levi watches from his hospital bed, knows that outside these walls the silent breakdown of his company is beginning, and he was only there to witness its spark. "Do you?" he asks dully.

Hange nods. "Collaborating with the fuzz this time. They're opening an investigation and want me to have to bear the bad news that it was arson."

"Was it?"

"Yes." Hange glances at the last dregs of coffee in their cops and swirls them around. "I thought that would make it better, I mean, then we can blame our losses on that fact, everyone hates a criminal, right? But Erwin says this'll make it worse."

"Okay." Levi turns away.

"And now I have to break the news that we have an arsonist in our midst." They sigh. "God, they're going to eat me alive."  

_-eaten alive, burned alive, skin and meat sizzled over the flames, melted down into bone and charcoal and the raw rotting remnants of life-_

"You'll be fine," Levi says gruffly. 

iv. He always thought that third degree burns weren't supposed to hurt. 

That must have been just an old wife's tale, because on his first night home, he lies awake for six hours praying away the pins and needles in his leg, the fingernails that rake across his plastic skin and dig into his brittle bone; and they don't stop there either. They crawl up his leg and plunge themselves into his stomach, and from there they claw to his heart, their crackled edges scraping all the way, tearing up his veins and organs, and when they reach his heart they

_-devour it, assault it from all sides, fingernails clawing up the atria and ventricles, licking up the gushing blood, they crowd into the valves, the nails ripping and tearing and screaming as they destroy him from inside out-_

His prescription says "DO NOT TAKE WITH ALCOHOL" so he swallows a bottle of vodka and drinks himself to sleep. 

v. College student: messy hair, bags under the eyes, and a constant look of slight panic. Eren Yeager doesn't need to introduce himself, not after the disastrous speech he gives to a confused audience of firefighters and journalists, but he still does. 

"I was wondering if you needed anything," Eren asks. "I mean, you saved my life."

"Stop."

"No, really," Eren insists. "You did. And you got a Medal of Honor for it too!"

"Great, I got an award for letting my entire squad die."

Eren hesitates, fumbling with the end of his tie. "Just let me know if there's anything you need."

Levi snorts. "What are you, a boy scout?"

"...I was-"

"I can take care of myself," Levi exclaims. He hops back onto his crutches and starts for the door. "Thank you."

vi. He stops by the station to pick up a few personal items still lingering, and on his way out, he spies four boxes in the corner of the office. Cardboard, carefully labeled. A roll of thick tape lies nearby, but the boxes are still open. 

Levi hesitates in the doorway, his own small box of personal effects under his arm; isn't this an invasion of privacy? And then he remembers that they're all dead anyways, so who gives a fuck.

He tears through them, one by one.

He finds Gunther's notebook, the one that no one was ever allowed to read. Levi cracks it open now and flips through pages of carefully crafted pen and ink drawings. He drops it back in the box and hides it under a pile of towels and combs.

Erd's box holds a meticulous shaving kit, a set of unopened white undershirts, and a bronze medal from high school track and field. Beneath it lies a photograph from his honeymoon in Bali.

Levi can hardly stand to peer into Auruo's box, knowing the nonsense it will contain, but he does; he finds only a broken cell phone charger and a photo of Auruo with his kid sister.

He shoves the other three boxes aside and stares mutely at the last one. He steals it and stows it under his bed.

vii. "So you've got the TV remote with you, and your phone, just in case anything happens, I mean, not that anything will happen, but, ha, isn't that what we always say?"

"Eren," Levi says dully from his spot on the sofa. The cat licks his hand. "Eren."

"And I can make you another cup of tea, if you want, before I go-"

"You don't have to take care of me," Levi exclaims, cutting him off. 

Eren freezes; he turns his gaze to the floor, stows his shaking fingers into his pockets. He coughs shortly, and his green eyes give a silent, sorrowful glance in Levi's direction. "It's the least I can do," he says quietly.

"I'm not an invalid," Levi scoffs.

"You're the one who called me."

"All I wanted was for you to sweep the floors. I don't need to be babysat."

Eren pauses. "I know. I'm sorry." He digs his keys out of his coat pocket. "I guess I should leave."

"Yes."

Eren starts to leave, keys jangling in his hands, but his gait lags as he nears the door as though he's being held back by a ball and chain. Levi watches him hesitate before the door, reaching silently for the knob- and then he turns, suddenly, and is back in the living room, green eyes alight. 

"I heard about your fiancée," Eren exclaims breathlessly.

_-breathless, isn't that how they felt when they choked to death, the flesh torn off their skins with hot knives of fire, the life burned out of them, the fire stolen from her hair-_

"Get out," Levi says.

Eren leaves.

viii. One of his neighbors calls for the fire department.

Mike's fingers are braced around Levi's arm, his grip unmoving, and he holds Levi still even when the office door slams open and Erwin barges in, a wild frenzy in his eyes.  

"What the hell are you doing, Levi?" Erwin exclaims, swinging the door shut behind himself.

Levi shrugs. "I had some things that I needed to get rid of."

"So you set them on fire?" Erwin crosses to the desk and drops into the leather back chair, rubbing his tired eyes. "You can't set things on fire. It's called arson, and it's illegal."

"I'm a firefighter," Levi says numbly.

"Even if you are a firefighter," Erwin adds exasperatedly.

Levi shrugs again. "Whatever."

Erwin slumps back into his chair, one hand rubbing thoughtfully at his chin, his gaze fixed at Levi. With a quick nod, he sends Mike out, leaving Levi to massage his arm. Erwin sits up.

"Hange told the police that we haven't found the source of the fire yet," Erwin says carefully, crossing his arms over his desk. He eyes Levi, who stares blankly back at him. "You don't have to go to jail over this."

"I thought you said it was illegal."

"It is, but-" Erwin cuts himself off, sighing. "What were you burning?"

ix. White dresses, white shoes, white flowers. 

It takes Levi ten minutes to make his way through the store to the dressing rooms, where his fiancée twirls in a white gown, her copper hair twisted into a bun, her hazel eyes narrowed in concentration. Levi drops into the nearest seat and watches for another moment or two before she notices him.

"You're here!" Petra exclaims, whirling around; the train of the dress catches in front of her and she groans, bending to fix it. "This isn't the dress, don't worry. It's awful, isn't it?"

"You look beautiful," Levi says.

"Stop." Petra turns back around to face the mirror and flounces out the skirt. She grimaces. "It's so old fashioned. The train and the lace and all that. Ugh."

"Why are you wearing it then?"

"I just wanted to try it on. The sales attendant is bringing out another dress. Something much simpler." Petra adjusts her veil, meeting Levi's gaze in the mirror. "Are you on duty tonight?"

"Yes." He crosses his leg, staring back at her. "I know you are, I saw your name on the list."

"Should be a fun night," Petra laughs. "Auruo said he'd bring DJ Roomba to keep us company while we clean."

Levi snorts. "I can't imagine what kind of shitty music he listens to."

"Well, all the more we can make fun of him for." The attendant returns, beckoning Petra into the dressing rooms. "Wait here," she says, turning to Levi. "I'll be back in a bit."

She returns with the whisper of white, twirling into the viewing room with a smile on her lips, loose streaks of copper hair falling on her face, and she dances across the room, the skirt ringing around her feet. When she spins to a still, she stands straight, smiling. 

"What do you think?" she asks. She fingers the sheer collar around her neck, the ribbon around her waist, the folds of the skirt covering her feet. She twirls again as Levi watches. "Well?"

"It's beautiful," he answers, rising to his feet. "You're beautiful. And what do you think?"

Petra grins. "I think this is it."

x. "Levi?" Erwin prompts. "What were you burning?"

_-burning and blazing and breaking, on fire, on fire, everything's on fire, flames in his brains, heat in his heart, burning and burning, the stark stench of lives lost, the stink of flames crisping skin to its core, to leather, to ash, to NOTHING AND NOTHING IS IMPORTANT AND HE IS NOTHING AND EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE FIRE DEVOURS EVERYTHING EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE-_

"It wasn't anything important," he mutters. 

**Author's Note:**

> sorry


End file.
